Elizabeth Banks has signed on to executive produce, direct and star in a TV adaptation of Victoria Aveyard’s novel Red Queen for streaming service Peacock.
As per Variety, the one-hour drama “is set in an alternate near-future America where democracy is replaced by a monarchy led by a group of humans with superpowers who rule with an iron fist over those without powers. Mare, a fiery young woman born to poverty without powers, is doing the best she can to survive and protect her family when she discovers the unthinkable: She somehow has powers too. This shocking discovery turns our world upside down and catapults our unlikely hero to become the face of a revolution for the oppressed while searching for the truth behind the greatest mystery of all…how she became so powerful in the first place.”
Banks – who has previously spent time developing a feature film adaptation of Red Queen – will take on an as-yet-unrevealed major supporting role the series, which has been co-written by Aveyard and showrunner Beth Schwartz (Arrow, Sweet Tooth).
The Red Queen news follows on from last month’s announcement that Banks is producing an animated sequel to The Flintstones entitled Bedrock, where she will voice the now-adult Pebbles Flintstone. She also recently signed on to direct the feature film Cocaine Bear for Universal Pictures.